Google's Chrome OS: Next Up, a Web Tablet?

Google's evolution follows an interesting trend. And if the line holds true, I think we can guess what comes next after the Chrome OS.

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Google's evolution follows an interesting trend. And if the line holds true, I think we can guess what comes next after the Chrome OS.

I tweeted as much earlier yesterday, (with a timeline error or two; blame the doctor's office) but I'll recap it here and extrapolate out further.

Google began as a search engine using the stanford.edu domain (1996); emerged as Google.com, a Web site (1997); as a toolbar (2000); then evolved into a home page (2005, later rebranded as iGoogle in in May 2007); followed by the mobile version of its Android operating system (Nov. 2007); then the Chrome browser (2008); followed finally by the Chrome OS in July 2009. In between, Google has rolled out a number of services that it has lumped under the heading of "Google Apps".

In each iteration, I think it's fair to say that Google has pushed "out" of the PC, jumping up layer by layer from the Web to the browser to the OS, and taking a larger and larger share of your attention span. I'm not really sure how to graph a trend like this, but I think Google's evolution is fairly directed.

(You may see a post or two today with attributions to sources close
to Google. This is another. For whatever reason, Google representatives
declined to talk on the record, letting the company's blog post represent the public position of the company. That, unfortunately, leaves many other questions for Chrome OS that Google has yet to answer.)

Google apparently feels that it's not enough to wait for a minute or
two to allow your PC to boot up for a menial task like accessing your
email or surfing the Web. A lightning-quick Linux-based OS would allow
users to quickly access the Web, which is where the majority of the
user's interaction occurs, at least in Google's world.

Google's already announced an operating system for mobile devices, and
now netbooks; could we see a full-fledged Chrome OS desktop? A Google
server OS? The company already has search appliances, and probably uses
a custom OS in its servers, although Google has never said.

I get the sense, at least from the people I've spoken to, that Google
simply wants to push the Web, and its advertising, in front of as many
people as possible, and as quickly as possible. For that reason, a
server OS might be tangential to that goal.

It does seem reasonable, however, that Google might eventually head,
not in the direction of the PC, but in crafting some sort of
Web-centric tablet. In all fairness, Michael Arrington's Crunchpad
might beat them to the punch; it's also possible that the savvy
Arrington might be angling for a Google buyout. It's not beyond reason.

I doubt that we'll ever see Google enter the hardware business. But
Google executives have said that the company will exercise a level of
control over Android hardware, allowing OEMs different levels of
freedom: from total flexibility; to the total "Google experience,"
where Google directly influences the look and feel of the phone; with
some middle ground in between. That same model could also be applied to
hardware. "Powered by Windows" stickers could give way to "Powered by Google".

Of course, hardware-software-OS-apps-Web integration may invite some
sharp glances from antitrust investigators. We'll have to stay tuned
for that.Originally posted to AppScout.

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